


Day 9: Maid

by Aichi



Series: Kinktober 2020 [9]
Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Crossdressing, Gen, Maid Cafe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 09:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26969506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aichi/pseuds/Aichi
Summary: Kumi takes Chrono to a cafe.
Relationships: Okazaki Kumi & Shindou Chrono, Onimaru Kazumi & Shindou Chrono
Series: Kinktober 2020 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1951588
Comments: 10
Kudos: 11





	Day 9: Maid

**Author's Note:**

> ABOUT SHIPS: This contains minor mentions of Tokokumi! And also, can probably be easily read as Kurozumi if you want, I Guess, although it was written to be platonic.
> 
> ABOUT KINKS: This isn't actually a kink fic, like, at all. It's just cute and technically fills the prompt. I know I keep saying that but really, it's not in a kinky context and there's nothing suggestive about it. Just So We're All Aware.

_‘Chrono! There’s this great new cafe right near the Dragon Empire branch!’_ Kumi had said. _‘You’ll love it!_ ’ she said.

“You did not,” Chrono mutters, sinking as far into his seat as he can without being impolite, “tell me this was a _maid_ cafe.”

A boy in one of the distinctive black-and-white uniforms walks past their booth, expertly balancing a tray laden with cupcakes and drinks despite his improbably high heels.

“A _male_ maid cafe.”

Kumi waggles a finger at him. “There’s maids of _all_ genders here, Chrono. I _did_ specifically request a boy for us, though~”

“You did?!” They’ve barely sat down, but Chrono’s skin is already well on the way to matching his hair. It’s not like he’s _opposed_ to the idea of attractive men — the opposite, really — but this _definitely_ isn’t the kind of environment he’d frequent given the choice, and quite frankly, he can’t help but feel like he’s been tricked somehow. “Well, at least no one’s going to think we’re a couple this time.”

“That’s fine,” Kumi says, airily. “I’m promised to another, anyway~”

“Maybe you should have brought _her_ , then.”

“Oh, Tokoha thinks these kinds of places are embarrassing. Everyone is talking about how good their food is, though! I couldn’t _not_ come!”

Biting back a comment about his own embarrassment, Chrono busies himself trying to look literally anywhere other than at the staff. The cafe itself is a nice place, he has to admit; the decor is cute, but not as overwhelmingly _frilly_ as some of the other places Kumi likes to frequent. They’ve gone for an aesthetic comprised mainly of pink and baby-blue flowers, and the menus — Chrono peruses his as slowly and intently as possible — are printed in a bubbly cursive script that reminds him of Kumi’s own. In addition to the usual teas, coffees, and hot chocolates, the menu also boasts an impressive array of cakes and sweets, and while Chrono isn’t really a cake-and-sweets kind of person, their presentation is so enticing that it’s easy to pick out a few that might be worth trying.

“Chrono! Chrono!” Kumi hisses, practically bouncing in her seat. “I think our maid’s coming!”

Burying himself even deeper in the menu, Chrono silently prays that whoever it is won’t notice the dizzying blush painted across his face. They must get plenty of customers like that, surely. He probably — hopefully — won’t stand out, right?

“Good afternoon!” a voice says, bright and cheery. “What can I do for you, Mistress, Mast— ...ah.”

Chrono looks up. He can’t _not_. Breath and words alike desert him for a moment.

“...Master,” Kazumi Onimaru finishes, somehow maintaining a professional, well-mannered breeziness despite the waver in his voice. “Are— are you two ready to order?”

Chrono suddenly isn’t ready to do anything besides maybe burst into flames. Kazumi’s face is split in a polite, yet starkly nervous smile, skin flushed almost enough to match Chrono’s own. He’s dressed in the same familiar uniform as the other maids, tailored perfectly for his tall, slim frame, and a pink rose is tucked into his usual neat ponytail. A bow tied at his back trails ribbons down past the length of his skirt, and Chrono’s eyes follow it traitorously all the way to his high heels and pure white thigh-high stockings.

It’s somehow simultaneously both shocking and, at the same time, fitting how well the look suits him.

“We’re ready!” Kumi says just a little too loudly, startling Chrono back into reality. “I’ll have the seasonal chestnut latt—”

“H— hold on,” Chrono splutters. The menu slips from his hands, forgotten, and lands softly on the table. “Kazumi?! What are you…” He trails off immediately, awkwardly. What is he even trying to ask? _What are you doing here? Why are you working in a cafe, in_ this _cafe of all places? Aren’t you rich?_ No, not anymore— Kazuma had mentioned his brother leaving home — leaving their father, which is something Chrono can all-too-easily commiserate with — and taking up a job, but he’d imagined some kind of suit-wearing salaryman, not… _this_. _Why_ this _, and why, specifically,_ here _and_ now _?_

“Nice to see you, Chrono,” Kazumi says, stilted but genuine. “Although, I shouldn’t call you that right now — Master.”

Kumi snickers as he curtsies, practiced and perfect, hiding her grin behind her menu.

Chrono fixes her with hard, narrowed eyes. “Am I being set up?”

She raises her hands defensively, shaking her head. “No! I had no idea, really! I wish I had. Then I really _could_ have set something up.”

“I don’t want to be set up!” Chrono catches himself, and lowers his voice as he turns back to Kazumi. “I’m sorry about this.”

“Don’t be!” Kazumi’s response is just the slightest bit overenthusiastic. “It’s no problem! It really is nice to see you.” He rubs awkwardly at the back of his neck. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I think I’ve embarrassed you.”

“I was already plenty embarrassed, don’t worry.”

Kazumi’s shoulders shake in silent laughter. “Shall I go ahead and take your orders? It might help all of us to relax.”

“Chestnut latte!” Kumi insists. “And some of these macarons!” She jabs at her menu.

“Of course, Mistress.”

It’s impossible not to notice how much more comfortable Kazumi seems as he slides fully back into his service persona, and how easily he does so. Somehow, it _does_ relax Chrono somewhat as well, lifts the bizarre weight of confusion off his chest. It makes sense, almost, when he thinks about it; Kazumi has always been both extremely polite and just the slightest bit… unconventional. Maybe something like this really _is_ suited to him, and not just because of his personality, but perhaps too because it’s something his father would never have approved of. A quiet, comfortable rebellion.

“And you, Master? Will you be having anything? Coffee, perhaps?”

“Um.” Chrono’s voice sticks in his throat again. “Yes. Black.” He fights the urge to bury his face in his hands. Playing into the whole thing is still beyond him. “Please.”

Another curtsy, just as perfect as the last, and Chrono notices for the first time that there’s a cherry-red sheen to Kazumi’s lips, a definition to his eyelashes that wasn’t there before. He’s wearing makeup. _Definitely_ not something his family would have allowed.

“As you wish~” Kazumi says, smiling, in a way that feels like something more than just a _persona_. “I’ll be right back.”

And just like that, he’s gone, and Chrono is left facing the most elated Kumi he’s seen since the last time she triple crit him.

“He’s cute,” she whispers, “isn’t he?”

Chrono lets out a sigh like air whistling out of a balloon, and decides _not_ to strike up a conversation about Kazumi’s eligibility and, inevitably when it comes to Kumi, his finances. The mini-tournament he’d participated in at Dragon Empire this morning suddenly seems an entire world away, and the normal, non-embarrassing snack he’d expected to have with a friend afterwards feels like a total pipe dream. He raises a hand to his cheek, and isn’t surprised to find it's still warm.

The wait for Kazumi to return feels like forever, and Chrono spends almost the entire time studying the flowery pattern decorating their tabletop. Kumi, of course, spends it wistfully watching the other maids, occasionally turning to him to audaciously wiggle her eyebrows, and Chrono is moments away from suggesting that maybe _she_ work here if she likes it so much — maybe _then_ Tokoha will be more interested in coming — when the sound of heels on the tiled floor snaps him to attention.

“Your coffee, Master~”

Kazumi deposits the cup on the table before him without spilling a drop, and a heavy, pleasantly bitter smell hits Chrono’s nostrils almost immediately. Balancing his serving tray in one hand seemingly effortlessly, Kazumi places down Kumi’s cup next, filled with a rich brown coffee which to Chrono looks uncomfortably sweet. The macarons are delivered on a small plate, arranged neatly by colour to form a circular rainbow.

Kumi scoops up her cup immediately, taking a long sip that leaves her with a milky mustache on her face.

“Th— thank you,” Chrono manages.

“It’s my pleasure, Master~!” Kazumi beams, and it’s obvious that it isn’t just part of the script, that he really means it, and Chrono is fully convinced, finally, that it really _does_ suit him, so much more than acceding to his father ever will. “Your maid is here to serve, after all~”

The coffee, it turns out, is amazing, as are the macarons. Chrono even finds himself ordering a slice of raspberry cheesecake to follow them up, though not without Kumi teasing that maybe he _is_ enjoying the place, after all. They split the bill, thankfully, because it all comes to a frankly shocking sum for so few things — _such fine service costs big money_ , Kumi says with a wink — and Chrono heads home with, despite everything, a quiet sense of comfort that Kazumi, like him, has found a place to be himself.

And when Kumi invites him again the next weekend, he doesn’t say no.

**Author's Note:**

> In the end, we are all Kazumi.
> 
> Twitter: @cosmowreath


End file.
